


The Cautionary Tale of Sidious

by SpectralFury



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-25
Updated: 2018-12-25
Packaged: 2019-09-26 19:33:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,413
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17147798
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SpectralFury/pseuds/SpectralFury
Summary: Darth Plagueis advises his apprentice on key things to look out for in their future student.





	The Cautionary Tale of Sidious

You are curious about my previous apprentice. Don’t deny it, it is only natural to seek out knowledge. It is why I took you on, apprentice. You have an insatiable appetite for information, and the will to put it to proper use. I promised you there would be no secrets between us, a promise I intend to keep.

This is a tale of caution and warning, apprentice. Take heed, for when you eventually find a student of your own you will want to remember this lesson well.

Darth Sidious was the perfect Sith. Too perfect, even. Intelligent, terrifyingly strong with the Force, ambitious, charismatic, and a natural sociopath. As Hego Damask, I had travelled to the then-backwater planet of Naboo with a twofold purpose, to ferment additional discontent within the Republic, and to increase the wealth of my company, Damask Holdings.

It was there I met a young human by the name of Palpatine.

Yes apprentice, that Palpatine. The record holder for shortest Chancellorship in history, at four hours. Pay attention, and you will soon see why he holds that record.

Palpatine was a member of some political youth program of insignificance. He was disliked by his family, especially his father, and constantly got into trouble with the authorities for various petty crimes.

I agree apprentice, had he been lacking in the Force, he would have fit in well within the Senate.

I met him and quickly added him to my list of confidants, while at the same time taking note of his thoughts and desires. He was afraid of being nothing, and desired everything. It was all too simple to take his fears and desires, and push them in the right direction for my own purposes. It took no effort at all to enlist him as a spy in my plan to install a government friendly to my company’s interests. His eagerness to assist me should have been met with suspicion, but alas it was not.

Within a few galactic standard months, Palpatine’s actions had earned him the hatred of his loyalist father, which I am to understand was already considerable. Father Palpatine decided the best way to reign in his son was to send him to live with distant family. A mistake on his part, as this only enraged the boy enough to murder not only him, but his entire close family.

Yes, that was his sacrifice at the time, though in hindsight it was hardly a sacrifice. He later told me that he had desired to kill them for years. A sacrifice, by definition, is giving up that which is valuable to its bearer. This should have been my first hint to kill the boy, that an eager betrayal of the family meant an eventual betrayal of me, but I was so blinded by his potential that I did not see it.

No, I am not going to kill you. Your willingness to commit to your sacrifice was not absolute. You did it for power, not simply because you desired it. You hesitated, an event I desired to see, for it revealed the true value of what you were willing to trade for your place at my side.

Sidious took to my lessons well. He hardly complained, obeyed me at every turn, and was studious. No matter what I offered, he took it and added it to his own repertoire with impressive efficiency. A failure on my part, as I should have seen that he was attempting to drain me dry. Be cautious of those overeager for the power you have to offer.

I sense your apprehension. You are comparing yourself to him. Don’t. You are patient, apprentice, much more than Sidious was. Whereas he devoured everything in sight, you take your time, savoring every bite to understand the complexities. The history, the application, the consequences, both on yourself and its target. You wield, while Sidious merely used. There is a stark difference.

Once a decade had passed, I ordered him to integrate himself into the political network of the Republic. First as a junior ambassador of Naboo, and then as its Senator. He wove alliances, spun lies, and played the part of the spider-in-waiting, ready to strike once its prey was in reach. We were partners by then, or so I had believed. With my financial power and his insidious political clout, we slowly prepared the galaxy for war by way of disputes, minor skirmishes, and inconveniencing laws and bills.

Yes, his name does make much more sense now, doesn’t it? The naming is one of the few times we allow the dark side to lead us completely, for only it can know the true nature of a Sith that accepts its power.

Now we reach much more recent history. You are aware of the Battle of Naboo, yes? An event manufactured by us. Sidious had recently helped pass a law to increase the tariffs on trade routes, something the Trade Federation would not abide. It was all too easy for him to pose as a figure willing to “solve their problems,” but for a price. It was unfortunate that the Jedi had to interfere, but regardless of the outcome, the Sith would have benefited.

Maul? Our tool. An assassin I allowed Sidious to train to project our power when necessary. I suspected that he was training the man to be Sith, but could never quite prove it. I had, for years, begun to hide away in seclusion with my studies. My tasks as Damask were nearly complete, and the plan was already moving on its own. I was blinded by arrogance, believing that Sidious and myself would be partners, that he would not desire the power for himself alone. 

That is the last lesson of this tale, apprentice. Keep tabs on your subordinates, no matter how much you trust them. Pay attention to what they are doing. It was a lesson I almost learned too late.

The night after his election to Supreme Chancellor, he and I retreated to my penthouse on Coruscant to work on his acceptance speech. A formality, for his writing talents did not require my input. No, it was more of a celebration, for at that point the Grand Plan was all but in place.

Then he had to ruin it by trying to kill me.

He almost succeeded, a mistake I am willing to admit. We drank, laughed, spoke of the future. Of our revenge on the Jedi. It would have been that night that I released him from his apprenticeship. We would have been true partners. 

However as time passed, I noticed a discrepancy. Wine continued to flow in my direction while he opted for less intoxicating beverages. It was a fluke, truth be told, that I noticed this. I wanted to believe that he simply did not want to have to deal with the affects of alcohol the next morning, but as I thought back to the various moments of his apprenticeship, the red flags and events I should have noticed years ago, things began to click in place.

I was careful at first, simply pretending to ignore the wine he poured as we spoke, but once I began refusing outright, his irritation began to show. Mistakes were made on his part as I carefully pulled his goal away while feigning ignorance. I quickly grew distrustful of him, and when the question was finally asked of why he was so insistent, I was ready.

The battle? Hardly worth describing. Lightning flew, lightsabers clashed, it was over within a minute. No epic tale that was meant to be added to the Sith lore I have been teaching you. Jedi would have you believe that the old way of an apprentice trying to take their place as master to be some climactic battle that destroys whole city blocks. Perhaps before Bane’s time, but hardly our way now. Suffice to say that I won, apprentice.

The Grand Plan set back by decades, all because Sidious could not fathom sharing power with another. All because I was too blinded by how imminent the victory over the Sith could be if I used him.

Do I fear you for an eventual betrayal? Sith fear nothing, apprentice, remember that. But no, I am not concerned. There are no secrets between us, remember? I know everything about you, even the things you think you have kept from me.

So yes, I would rather enjoy another glass of wine.


End file.
